Companies beware: The next big leak could be yours

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — WikiLeaks' release of secret government communications should serve as a warning to the world's biggest companies: You're next.

Computer experts have warned for years about the threat posed by disgruntled insiders and by poorly crafted security policies, which give too much access to confidential data.

And there is nothing about WikiLeaks' release of U.S. diplomatic documents to suggest that the group can't — or won't — use the same methods to reveal the secrets of powerful corporations.

And as WikiLeaks claims it has incriminating documents from a major U.S. bank, possibly Bank of America, there's new urgency to addressing information security inside corporations and a reminder of its limits when confronted with a determined insider.

At risk are companies' innermost secrets — e-mails, documents, databases and internal websites that are thought to be locked to the outside world.